Balance The Waves

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are doing well. I am doing good. Had a great Thanksgiving with all of my family. I hope you did too. This loving kindness meditation is very helpful to me at this point in my life. I often feel I am balancing grief and true happiness. Layers of grief have been peeling which is therapeutic. I find myself lately having those "moments" about my mother in law Elsie. I have not really grieved for her, it was to much too soon after losing my mother. It's as if I blocked her death out completely, just went through the motions. The mind is kind and can only handle what it can to survive. I hope this meditation helps you to balance what you need to in your life.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
Take Care,
Janet :)

Finding balance sometimes may at times seem like a struggle. Life is filled with extremes, some painful, others pleasurable. You may be grieving over the death of your beloved Grandmother-and a few days later you may be surrounded by family and friends celebrating your birthday or a holiday. How can we hold these two extremes without shutting down?
The Budda said the greatest happiness is to know peace that is unchanged by changing conditions. With this inner stability, you can ride the waves of contrasting emotions and experiences without losing your balance.
The next time you're overwhelmed by the contrast of joy and pain in your life, say these phrases to yourself either formally or informally.
"May I ride the waves of pleasure and pain with ease"
"May I be peaceful and at ease"
It's possible to experience happiness in the midst of pain and sorrow. It;s possible to be happy and sad at the same time. This is part of the balance of life and practicing acceptance of this pleasure and pain dynamic helps us let go of our need to control our experiences. Accepting this duality is the birthplace of balance.

Loving Kindness To Go

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are doing well. I am doing good. I would like to share with you some loving kindness meditations to help during stressful situations. You know when you get up in the morning and your running late and then you get stuck in traffic and from that point on your day is ruined. Well take kindness for a drive. When you feel the power of anger overcoming you simply take a few deep breaths. Shifting your attention towards your breathing will help you come down from your agitated state. Start to pay attention to your self talk. Are you being critical of yourself for running late. As you breath replace the critical thinking of yourself with May the anger I feel at this moment leave me. May my body be calm. May my mind be peaceful. May I be at ease in this moment. Repeat them to yourself if needed and hopefully sooner than later you will begin to feel calm and move throughout your day in a better state of mind. Another meditation to help bring calm into your day is one of remembering kindness of your family. Often times we spend to much time focusing on what our parents did wrong or siblings. To change these thoughts simply doing a breathing exercise and focus on the acts of kindness your family did for you. If your mom made you a special cake for your birthday. Did your Mom or Dad cook your favorite dinner when you asked. Did your brother or sister willing play games with you that were fun and brought happiness to you at that moment. When you visualize the goodness coming from your family towards you, let yourself feel this love and say to yourself "May I feel the love and care I received as a child". Rest in that feeling for a few moments and enjoy it for the rest of the day.
Thanks for visiting my blog,
Take Care,
Janet

Love Yourself

Hi Everyone,
Hi hope you are all doing well. I am doing good. Another snowy day in New England. It has been a a very snowy season this year and all around is nothing but mounds of snow. It is pretty at first but then after a few days it is just dirty looking and blah.I don't get down though, I like having 4 seasons. Today I want to continue to share with everyone the practice of Loving-Kindness meditation. I have to say I don't always have the time to practice this but now that I have started to, I honestly feel less anxious than I use to. I am truly returning to a state of happiness that I have not felt since my mother had her double stroke in 2006. I endured 17 months of watching her suffer with the effects of a double stroke. I did not feel love or joy for a long time only pain and anxiety. So I recommend this even in small doses for yourself. Thanks for visiting my blog
Take Care,
Janet :)
Discover Your Enormous Potential for Happiness
Everyone want to be happy. You may not realize that happiness comes from within you. Real self-worth is entirely internal. The exercises in this section will give you an opportunity to practice compassion and love for yourself. You may find that you'll experience feelings of joy and contentment not just while you're doing the exercises but long after your practice has ended. The best way to start is to look through these different loving-kindness practices and see which ones resonate with you. Then do the ones you like. You can repeat the same one many times. Give yourself a chance to open your heart as you practice these meditations. Two meditations I will share with you today and more to follow in my next posts on loving-kindness.
Be Your Own Best Friend.
The foundation of loving-kindness is knowing how to be your own best friend. How do you treat your best friend? Is it with care, attention, love, and concern? Here is an exercise that offers you those same deep feelings for others towards yourself. This practice helps you remember your core goodness. I would suggest either informal or formal meditation whichever works best for you. When your in a comfortable place simply breath in and out to relax your body and mind, then say these words to yourself. First remember a time when you felt open and friendly, Like the feeling you get when a child takes your hand, or a dog runs up to greet you, or your sweetheart wraps you up in a warm embrace. As these memories or feelings emerge let yourself feel the warm emotions. Next gently direct these phrases towards yourself. May I be kind to myself, May I rest in this moment, May I be at ease and May I be happy.
Loving-Kindness Towards Your Body. This one may be hard as we all find fault with our bodies. You may hate your thighs but love your eyes. This exercise will help you to direct acceptance of all of your body. Follow the same steps as the one above, what ever works best for you and simply say these words towards all the parts of your body, liked or not liked. Visualize yourself feeling good about the parts of your body you really like. Rest in that feeling for a few moments. Now focus on the parts of your body that you don't like and treat them with kindness, repeat these phrases. May I be kind to my body, May I make friends with my body, May I free from hate, May I be free from fear. Relax and let your breaths comfort you. Slowly bring yourself back to your day.